WILLIAM L. “WILD BILL” CARLISLE (1890-1964) was one of the last train robbers of the American West, known as the “Robin Hood of the Rails” and “The White-Masked Bandit”. Born in Chester County, Pen...mehr sehenWILLIAM L. “WILD BILL” CARLISLE (1890-1964) was one of the last train robbers of the American West, known as the “Robin Hood of the Rails” and “The White-Masked Bandit”. Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on May 4, 1890, the youngest of five children, he began to ride the freight trains as a teenager. In 1907, aged 17, he rode the train to Montana to work as a ranch hand. By 1916, he was destitute and decided the quickest way to obtain cash was to hold up a train. Following four train robberies, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins on May 10, 1916, even though he never shot anyone during the robberies and did not take money from women, children or servicemen. Despite his sentence being commuted to 25-50 years in 1919, Carlisle escaped and robbed another train, but was rearrested again shortly thereafter. He was paroled on 8 January 1936 for good behavior, married, adopted a daughter, and opened a cigar shop and newsstand in Kemmerer, Wyoming. He later moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where he opened a gas station and later a motel. He received a full pardon from the Governor of Wyoming in 1947. After his wife’s death in 1962 he returned to Pennsylvania, where he died on June 19, 1964, aged 74.
CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864-1926), also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and “Kid” Russell, was an artist of the Old American West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States and in Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures. Known as “the cowboy artist,” Russell was also a storyteller and author.
J. R. WILLIAMS (1888-1957) was an American cartoonist. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel Out Our Way, which included such characters as the cowboy Curly and ranch bookkeeper Wes. With 40 million readers by 1930, he bought his own ranch in Prescott, Arizona, and later moved to Pasadena, California.weniger sehen